Well i know what you're thinking "Ah gees EA, why must you milk the cash cow? WHY?"
Well hold your horses because this game is looking pretty awesome....and besides EA have released some great games over the past year. ;) :P Seriously.
The Battle for Middle-Earth is a real time strategy that delves into Tolkien's world of Middle Earth, the game is based on the films.




"From waging all-out combat among Middle-earth's vast armies to controlling the heroes or managing resources, the fate of a living, breathing Middle-earth is in the player's hands."





"Using the Command & Conquer Generals 3D game engine, The Battle for Middle-earth features the forces of light or darkness in two separate campaigns. Complete with all of the epic music, actor voices, and other film assets seamlessly integrated into the game."





"Engage in immense online multiplayer battles with all of Middle-earth as your backdrop.
Immersive musical score composed by Academy Award winner Howard Shore."





"Use the strategic regional view feature to deploy massive armies, then zoom into tactical mode to fully control the battle all in real-time.
Innovate on the battlefield develop new tactics by using real-world physics in fully interactive battles."
Trailers:
Battle for Middle-earth Trailer 1
Battle for Middle-Earth Trailer 2
Battle for Middle-Earth Trailer 3/E3 Trailer
There you have it, sorry if i burned anyones modems out. :P
Here's hoping this game will rock!

*drools* :P

thanks

Heheh, funnily enough I wrote a HUGE thread on this game about a month ago...pics, links to vids..that old chestnut. But as I was about to post it, explorer crashed...

Good to see someone else took an interest enough in the game to post a thread. I can't wait 'till it comes out. Should definately be a blast.

I really want to get this game, it looks really good. i have seen a few interviews on it to and from seeing them, i think this game will turn out great.
I bet it will be a bit like Wc3, with all the story telling and heros in single players :)

So any idea when its out or is it still TBA?

Well EA are releasing new trailers each month that let you have a look inside the battle if you will.
So "Inside the Battle" has 3 volumes so far, here are the links.
Battle for Middle Earth: Inside the Battle Volume 1 (Unit Emotion)
Battle for Middle Earth: Inside the Battle Volume 2 (Living World)
Battle for Middle Earth: Inside the Battle Volume 3 (Middle Earth AI)
Looks god damn amazing!
Enjoy!

Holy crap I didn't realise how good this game was going to be before I saw those features. This is the first time in ages that I'm really interested in an RTS. Can't wait.

Some more LotR goodness.
Battle for Middle Earth E3 2004 Trailer 2
The Battle for Middle Earth: Cinematics
Also i found the E3 2004 demo video.
The Battle for Middle Earth: E3 2004 demo video
It just keeps getting better and better. :D

*bump*
I guess its time to update this thread a bit.
Battle for Middle-Earth: Inside the Battle Volume 4 (Building Middle-Earth)
Battle for Middle-Earth: Inside the Battle Volume 5 (A New Interface)
The release date is getting closer. :D

Awesome, i'm d/loading them now.

Time to bump.

I bought this over the weekend, after much deliberation due to the amount I currently have to play, and it's pretty darn good.

The building method is very unique, and allows for some quick play and rebuilding. You have this template of where buildings should sit, and you merely have to click and select which buildings you want sitting on the pre determined spots. Now, I don't know about you guys, but I usually waste alot of time, just figuring out where to plant stuff, and how it should all sit, so this removes that completely, meaning you can just get on with the game. You also have no need to create builders to make the buildings, only click on the template building location, select the building, and away it goes, allowing you to focus on the battle.

Although i'm not far in the game, and have only had access to the lighter units in the game, i'm already having a blast, with the rohirrim riders providing the best form of kick ass entertainment. They're fast, and they absolutely carve through the infantry units as though they were nothing. This still leaves them with loss of health, but the way they just charge through a squad of infantry, is very satisfying, especially when Eomer is at the head of the charge. In addition, you can group varying units into squads, to make use of the strengths and weaknesses of each units. For instance, you can group an archer squad, with an infantry squad, and they will move as a group, but the archer squad will always sit at the back line, taking shots while the infantry close in.

The heroes are also very strong, except for those useless hobbit gits, and the more stronger units, like Gandalf, have access to some really cool spells which deal some great damage. It's an awesome site to see gimli leap into the middle of a squad, and just scatter guys everywhere.

The game looks great, being built off the C&C Generals engine, with the environments and units looking quite good. One gripe I personally have though, is that there seem to be a bug with using an Nvidia card, and 8xFSAA. If AA is enabled, all spell effects cause the screen to go black. EA's solution? Use an ATi card... good stuff EA!

Can't wait till I get some of the larger units, and am really looking forward to it.